Butane stove brought by campers caused forest fire in Mt. Pulag

Investigations revealed that a butane stove brought by campers caused the explosion

Over 1.5 hectares of the mountain was affected and it took 8 hours for the fire to be extinguished

Hiking and trekking activities on Mount Pulag are still temporarily suspended in some areas

Some areas in Mt Pulag were in flames as a wild fire took over Luzon’s highest peak over the weekend. The fire affected more or less 1.5 hectares of camp of grassland. It took over 8 hours for the fire to be fully extinguished.

Initial investigation revealed that the cause of the fire was an explosion from a butane gas stove brought by a group of hikers/campers from Cebu. The hikers shared with ABS-CBN that they were cooking rice when their butane gas stove exploded. One of them accidentally threw the burning stove towards a grassy area, causing the fire to spread.

One hiker expressed their regret, “We apologize for what had happened. Hindi talaga namin ginusto ‘yun, at sana po ‘yung leave no trace na hashtag sana masunod rin.” [We really didn’t want it to happen and we wish that the hashtag ‘leave no trace’ will also be followed.]

The hiker was referring to those campers who left cans of butane gas in the area which reportedly also contributed to the quick spread of fire.

The investigation by Kabayan Fire revealed, as per a story by ABS-CBN, that the garbage and waste materials left behind by other hikers contributed to the severity of the fire.

The authorities have confirmed that the hikers may face charges of arson and negligence or in violation of Republic Act 9514 or “Fire Code of the Philippines of 2008.”